Chapter 33 - Kinematics, kinetics, and forces of the knee joint during walking

Abstract

Motion analysis is a valuable tool to monitor the kinematics and kinetics of body parts quantitatively and the decision-making process in clinical implementations. In gait analysis systems, temporospatial parameters, joint angles, joint moments, and ground reaction forces can be recorded. However, some other biomechanical parameters such as muscle forces, joint reaction forces, and muscle-tendon unit length change cannot be noninvasively recorded in gait analysis systems. Accordingly, musculoskeletal modeling and simulation tools are very widely used to obtain such biomechanical parameters. In this chapter, we presented the details about kinematics and kinetics of the knee joint during a healthy gait. In this context, joint angles, joint moments, muscle forces, and joint reaction forces were provided. Furthermore, some special cases seen in various musculoskeletal disorders that affect the ability of gait are also investigated.